Went 4-4 (1-1 SW, 2-2 PP, 1-1) for a loss of less than a unit of juice. Tonight am basically sticking with the same analysis I had on two teams in the West, one is a fade, and one is a back. I also have leans on Phoenix who matches up well with Toronto and Philly. But not interested in going against my Raps who own the best record in the East or backing Philly who sucks so very bad. Onto tonight card, wishing you all the best of luck, much appreciation to the vets who backed me up yesterday, no need to waste your time on them again, they are not worth it. As always gents, best of luck tonight - - - MAK
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NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS + 6.5 (-105) & ML (+220) - - - For those of you that continue to think the Rockets are so great, especially after their win vs the Mavs....I have 4 words for you...you don't know basketball. Even if the Rockets magically cover this spread, I will continuously fade the sh*t out of them. I am so large on the field winning against them in the division you would not believe the amount of units I have on that future. The only thing that would ruin that is a mid-season trade because as it stands right now this team is garbage. The only reason they won against the Mavs is because the Mavs played their worst game in 2 years. Dirk was atrocious hitting back-iron on every shot, Monta the same, and Parsons was so nervous back in Houston he played like a rookie. The return of Harris meant that J.J who had been leading the team for most games, only got limited minutes, and still the Mavs made a comeback whilst still playing horrific basketball, that goes to show you how bad the Rockets are. If they were playing a team that actually played well, any team, they would have been blown out. Tonight no Dwight but more importantly no Pat Beverly who was the only player apart from Harden to play good ball. I think the analytics in basketball are good, but when you build your team around it, it can bite you in the ass if you have unproven personnel. You can't just take 3 point shots if you do not have a player who can hit hard in the post, you must build your team around the points in the paint and the 3 point shot and Houston has not done that. Without Dwight, there is no one that can actually post up. Yes, it is quite possible that Houston can cover this game if their 3 point shot is on mark tonight, but I will constantly bet against this team as long as they are backed by the public and vegas. Despite this being a complete fade of the Rockets, I do like the Knicks now that Jose is back, once Bargnani comes back and both get in to game shape, this will actually be a team I back, for now, I will stay away from backing them apart from this Houston game. This will be the first game I back New York this season. I never once looked at matchups and said that the 1, 4 and 5 positions could actually be for New York, but tonight Jose, Acy and Sammy should do well. Mello and Ariza will battle and Shum and Harden have the same exact body build at 6'5 210 with similar quickness. My spot tonight is the bench of the Knicks, they have a superior bench in comparison to the Rockets who have one dimensional players. I suspect that is the big difference tonight. If the Rockets shoot the 3 ball with precision, this will be a lost cover, if not, this is an easy cover and even an easy straight up win for the New York Knicks.
4 UNITS + 6.5 (-105) & 1 UNIT ML (+220) JOSE "THE RAP" CALDERON - - -
DALLAS MAVERICKS - 13.5 (-110) - - - As I said above, the Mavs played a horrific game in Houston. What idiots who bashed me for this loss do not understand (because they do not know how to read) is that I would make that bet over again, no regrets in taking the Mavs. Dirk had statistically, his worst shooting game in 2 and a half years. He was awful, as was Monte. They know they let a divisional game slip that should have been easy for them. They were up by 6 with a minute to go and just lost it all with some bad positional execution. Tonight they will look for redemption at home and take their anger out on the poor Pacers. They face the Pacers who will be without their big man, the big slow, Roy Hibbert. Without Hibbert, Ian Mahinmi will start back in Dallas leaving Lavoy Allen who is 6'9 to be the lone big off the bench. Allen will face Wright who in some estimation is arguably the best big man coming off the bench in the NBA. Tonight it will be lob city with passes to Wright and Chandler. Look for Dirk to really have a good game and Ellis to use his quickness against Hill. Parsons should feel loose at home as he played very tight and restricted in Houston. Tonight Raymond Felton is eligible to play. I just don't know how you fit him in into an already deep backcourt. With Ellis, Nelson, Harris and J.J, where does Raymond go? That is 5 guards, one of them will have to play the 3 at times and Charlisle would have to run a 3 guard group with a lot of high-low and motion offense for this to work. Will be interesting to see what happens. I still think that the Mavs are one of the best teams in the West and will continue to prove it. Usually I would never touch a spread this large, but since the Mavs lost a game they should have won and played so poorly, I am sure they will come out with their guns drawn and ready to bang, Mavericks dictate the Pace tonight.
5 UNITS CHANDLER "TOO MUCH MONEY" PARSONS - - -
Will def. have some prop plays tonight and maybe a few 2nd H wagers. Good luck fellas, peace - - - MAK